Fritz Witt

Fritz Witt (27 May 1908-14 June 1944) was a Brigadefuhrer of the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II, commanding the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend.

Biography
Fritz Witt was born on 27 May 1908 in Hohenlimburg, Westphalia, German Empire. Witt joined the Nazi Party on 1 December 1931, having admired Adolf Hitler since he was a child. He served in an SS standarte during the Anschluss and the invasion of Czechoslovakia, and he was a veteran of the campaigns in Poland, France, and Russia during World War II. He led a battalion and then a regiment on the Eastern Front, winning the Iron Cross for actions during the battles around Rostov, and in July 1943 he was given command of the newly-formed 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend. Witt's division was deployed to Normandy, and it was formed up near Caen and Carpiquet. On 14 June 1944, Witt was killed in a Royal Navy barrage on his command post in Venoix, and Kurt Meyer took over command of the unit.